From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Poll: Nearly 50% of Israelis believe PM cannot function as needed amid corruption trial
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Nearly 50 percent of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot function in an appropriate manner as a wartime prime minister while testifying in his ongoing corruption trial.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s November 2024 Israeli Voice Index, which polled 750 people across the country last week, 48% of Israelis believe he cannot function while testifying, while 46% think he can.
While 49% of Jewish respondents believe the prime minister can function under the circumstances, 61% of Arabs believe that he cannot both effectively testify and lead the country.
Among Jews, views on the issue are split along partisan lines, with 70% of left-wing respondents and 55% in the center saying he cannot function appropriately while testifying, versus 34% on the right.
Netanyahu is due to begin testifying in his ongoing corruption trial on December 10.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu asked the Jerusalem District Court to reduce his expected testimony from three times a week to twice a week, citing his busy schedule due to security meetings and the need for communication with officials abroad, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
Netanyahu also asked not to testify on consecutive days and for him to be allowed to start giving evidence an hour later than the scheduled time of 9 a.m.
The State Attorney’s Office said it was opposed to the request.
Asked about the apparent revival of parts of the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul, 56% of respondents indicated that they believe it is wrong to advance such an agenda “against the backdrop of the continuing war and the need for social cohesion” — down from a larger majority of 65% this May.
Asked if Israel’s leadership is “doing its utmost to secure the release of the hostages,” 57% of respondents responded negatively.
On the question of reestablishing Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, 52% of Jews and 88.5% of Arabs expressed opposition, the Israel Democracy Institute found.
